With only 16 days until departure this trip is no longer a distant concept or fantasy, it’s real. We’ve left, given notice, or will take a long hiatus from our jobs. Our friends, families, basically everyone in our lives is fully aware that we’re leaving, for definite, to ride as far South as we can get.

Despite how little time there is before we leave, there still seems to be so much to do. Valve checks, tires, oil, shocks, forks, literally days of bike work. We have videos to film for sponsors, bank accounts to finish setting up, lots of small tasks that ultimately will fill just about every moment up to the 22nd. While the work is daunting, the excitement for six months on the road is indescribable.